Electromagnetic relay armature mounting and biasing



June 9, 1953 G DEAKIN ELECTROMAGNETIC RELAY ARMATURE MOUNTING AND BIASING Filed Sept. 21, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Gerald Bea/16d June 9, 1953 G. DIEAKIN 2,641,665

ELECTROMAGNETIC RELAY ARMATURE MOUNTING AND BIASING Filed Sept. 21, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 fierai fiwin a. DEAKIN 2,641,665

ELECTROMAGNETIC RELAY ARMATURE MOUNTING AND BIASING June 9, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 21, 1946 ill INVENTOR.

Dal/ran Patented June 9, 1953 ELECTROMAGNETIC RELAY ARMATURE MOUNTING AND BIASING Gerald Deakin, New York, N. Y., assignor to International Standard Electric Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application September 21, 1946, Serial No. 698,488

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to relays, more particularly plug-in relays, and connections therefor and is in the nature of an improvement on the invention disclosed and claimed in my copending application Gerald Deakin Serial No. 653,896, filed March 12, 1946, now Patent No. 2,543,000, February 2'7, 1951.

An important object of the invention is to provide a novel and advantageous relay adapted for use in communication systems such as a telephone systems.

An important object of the invention is to provide a novel and advantageous plug-in relay adapted for use in communication systems such as telephone systems.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and advantageous socket assembly for use with said plug-in relay.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dust-tight multicontact relay which after a test at the shop can be closed tight and be tested at the place of use without opening the same.

Still another object of the invention is to provide means whereby the pressure holding the armature away from the pole piece may be varied without departure from the uniform contact spring pressure. When only one or two armature springs are used, it is often necessary to control the operating current and to do this the normal pressure on the armature must be increased beyond that given by the contact springs.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide contact springs for the relay, wherein bending between certain points is eliminated thus rendering the corresponding parts rigid. All of the contact springs may be given a predetermined set in the portions thereof near the base, so that in the assembled relay the required eon tact pressure is automatically obtained with little or no readjustment.

A further object is to provide an armature assembly formed to give the required non-operated air gap. Various assemblies with several of the gaps generally used may be stocked. Selec- 'tion of the proper armature assembly will render unnecessary any further adjustment when the relay is assembled.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a dustproof plug-in relay wherein energization of the relay may be observed without removal of the cover.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for clamping the plug-in relay to the mounting or socket plate. Such clamping means will serve to prevent a plug-in relay from being shaken out of position and also to eliminate possible microphonic noise due to possible vibration of the relay on the contact springs.

A still further object is to provide means to prevent partial freezing between side-engaging parts of the armature and, for example, the

armature-bearing plate.

Other objects, features and advantages will appear upon consideration of the following detailed description and of the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a rear elevation of a relay embodying one form of the invention, the relay being shown as positioned in use;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the relay of Fig. 1 mounted on a socket plate which is secured to a support;

Fig. 3 is a section taken along the line 33 of Fig. 2, the socket plate being omitted;

Fig. 4 is a section taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation;

Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. 2 but of a modified form;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 4;

Fig. 9 is a rear elevation of the main base sections of either form of relay with the magnets attached and one above the other as in use;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view showing the bases of two relays, of either type, plugged into socket devices and latched thereto by spring members;

Fig. 11 is a section taken on the line l|ll of Fig. 6;

Fig. 12- is a view of the return pole piece and parts carried thereby as viewed from above in Fig. 2, overlying parts being omitted;

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary section in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the return pole piece (Fig. 12);

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary section taken along the line l4l4 of Fig. 13;

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken along the line |5|5 of Fig. 13;

Fig. 16 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line l6l6 of Fig. 13; and

Fig. 1'7 is a fragmentary section taken along the line lll'l of Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawings, there: is illustrated in Fig. 1 through 5, a plug-in relay I 5 comprising a core I6, a spool or coil [1 surrounding said core, and an L-shaped return pole piece l8 which is preferably of rectangular cross section. The core 16 is of circular cross-section and has a screw-threaded reduced rear end I9 passing through a corresponding opening in the base of said L-shaped pole piece I8 and into a nut which may be tightened to clamp said core and pole piece firmly together. At the rear of said nut 20, said threaded rear end passes through a bore in a magnet base 22 of insulating material, constituting an intermediate or body portion of the base 23 of the relay.

Said body portion 22 is countersunk at the forward end of said bore to receive the nut 20 and enable the central part of said body portion 22 to engage the base of said L-shaped pole piece l8, and is countersunk at the rear end of said bore to receive a nut 24 on said threaded rear end l6 of the core. By means of said nuts 26 and 24, the magnet base 22 may be secured firmly to the pole piece and the magnet core l6.

The nut 24 may also be used to secure to said body portion 22 a socket clip 25 in the form of a spring which has a central disk portion with an opening to receive said threaded rear end |9 of the magnet core. The clip 25 also has arms 26 extending from the central disk through grooves 2! almost to the edges of said member 22 and then rearwardly or away from the core in generally parallel spaced portions formed at their ends 28 with inwardly turned parts to serve as hooks and outwardly inclined portion to assist in spreading the arms preparatory to inward grasping movements.

At the outer face of the forward end of the portion of the return pole piece l8 parallel to said core, is anarmature bearing plate 29 firmly attached to said pole piece as by spot welding. Said plate 29 is preferably wider than the pole piece it and at a position slightly to the front of the forward end of the return pole piece I8, may be cut away at opposite sides to provide a central extension 36 of reduced width and two outwardly extending shoulders 3| with aligned horizontal bearing edges 32 at the outer face of said armature bearing plate 29.

Said bearing edges 32 provide a pivotal axis for an armature 33 illustrated as a plate having at one end projecting lugs 34passing at opposite sides of said central extension 3|! of plate 29 and bent back intermediate their ends to form sharp obtuse-angle corners to cooperate with said edges 32 which serve as knife-edge bearings.

The main body of the armature 33 extends across and nearly covers the front end of the magnet, the magnet base 22 being to the rear. The armature 33 constitutes part of an armature assembly which includes an element 35 preferably of sheet metal. Said element 35 comprises a part extending across the front of the armature proper 33 and secured thereto in a suitable manner as by spot welding, and rearwardly xtending side portions 36 with straight edges adjacent the wide part of the armature bearing plate 29. At the rear ends of side portions 36, extensions 31 project in a direction away from the coil ll. Each of these extensions is provided with a forwardly projecting finger 38 with an inturned portion or flange 39 (Fig. 11), thus providing a slot 46 loosely receiving the rear edge portion of said bearing plate 29.

A member 4!, preferably round, is mounted, as by pivots 42, in said extensions or arms 3! and engages one or more armature springs 44 which normally are in contact with back contact springs 45 but are shiftable by armature 33, upon energization of the magnet, into contact with front contact springs 46. Similarly, a member 41 farther away from the magnet coil than member 4| engages armature springs 48 which are shiitable by the armature 33 into contact with front contact springs 49. As illustrated, there is a set of four of each of said springs 44, 45, 46, 48 and 49. All of these springs are provided with suitable contact points.

Said springs 44, 45, 46, 48 and 49 are secured in a manner to. be described hereinafter in insulating material of the base 23 of the relay and project from the rear face thereof to provide plug-in terminals 56. To the rear of armaturespring-controlling members 4| and 41 is a spring stopor back stop 5| of insulating material which may be in the form of a rectangular frame having an outer side 52 engaged by springs 49, which press inwardly, a parallel cross member or bar 53 engaged by springs 46 which press inwardly, a cross member or bar 54 engaged by springs 45 which press outwardly, and an inner side 55.

From the inner side 55 of the back stop 5| project rounded-end lugs 56 arranged to extend through slots or notches 51 in the opposite edges of return pole piece l6 and to be secured therein in any suitable manner. To this end the lugs 56 are provided at their outer edges with slots or notches 58 having their forward sides just to the right (Fig. 2) of return pole piece l8 in position to be engaged by a spring clip 59 which serves to secure the spring stop or frame 5| to the return pole piece I8.

Said spring clip 59 has a fiat body portion with rearwardly and inwardly directed fingers 66 to press against the sides of return pole piece iB below the slots 5i. From the sides of. said flat body portion fingers 6| extend upwardly into said slots or notches 58 between the pole piece |8 and the sides of notches 53 nearer to the ends of lugs 55. At the inner edges of fingers 6| are arcuate projections 62 which assist in springing the fingers apart as the projections pass. over the bottoms of notches 5?. When this passing is completed during an insertion movement, the fingers 6| press towards each other and the projections 62 hold against accidental withdrawal. By this arrangement, assembly of the contact springs and the spring stop with other parts is very much simplified and economies are rendered possible.

The base 23 of the relay is also provided with plug-in springs 63 held in said base 23 at the far side thereof with respect to the contact springs. Said springs or terminals 63 are connected by wires 64 to the magnet coil H, and project from the rear face of said base 23 as plug-in terminals 5|].

Various provisions are made to assure the desired action of the armature 33. For example this may be effected by means of armatureassembly element 35. Energization of the coil will swing the armature 33 until the side portions or legs 36 of element 35 engage the wide portion of armature bearing plate 26, the decrease in the air gap being limited by this engagement. The maximum air gap resulting from deenergization of the coil will be limited by means of fingers 38 extending forwardly from extensions 3'! and having lips or flanges 39 turned inwardly to engage the outer face of the wide portion of the armature bearing plate 29.

The fingers 36 and lips 39 of the armature assembly element 35 may be varied to provide desired non-operated air gaps. The construction of said element 35 permits the stocking of assemblies of any desired number of non-operated air gaps. By selecting the proper armature assembly, no further adjustment will be necessary when the relay is assembled. It will be understood that armatures in stock will have indications thereon of the air gaps provided.

To avoid freezing or partial freezing of the armature 33 to the armature bearing plate 29, a sleeve or part sleeve 65 of non-magnetic material may be placed over the narrow central extension 30 of the armature bearing plate 29. For example, the sleeve 65 may be made of a single piece of sheet metal extending alon the magnet side, out'along the side edges and part way together at the outer side. Obviously sleeve or clip 65 acts as a shield.

In some relays only one armature spring is required, whereas in other relays any number of armature springs up to eight may be required. When only one or two armature springs are used it is often necessary to control the operating current and to do this the normal pressure on the armature must be increased beyond that given by the contact springs.

' It is important therefore to provide means by which the pressure holding the armature away from the pole piece may be accurately adjusted without departing from the uniform contact spring pressure. To this end, there is provided an adjustin spring 66 having a fiat portion with its rear end engaging the armature lugs 34 and extending forwardly substantially in parallelism with the central extension 30 of the armature bearing plate 29, a U-curve portion at the forward end of said flat portion, a short straight portion at the other end of said U-curve portion and adjacent said armature bearing plate, and a narrow part of the samewidth as said central extension 30 and having flanges 61 to engage the side edges of said extension 30.

' The spring 61 may beheld on said extension 3|] and its pressure on armature lugs 34 may be adjusted by means of a screw 68 passing through the flat main portion of the spring and the part of the spring resting on said extension 30, and threaded into said extension 30. Said screw 68 is illustrated as having a split"end which would tend to lock it in adjusted position.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the contact springs 44, 45, 46, 48 and 49 are bent in their base portions adjacent to the plug-in terminals 50 to fit between the magnet base '22 and bars 10, H, I2, 13 and 14 which are suitably grooved to receive the bent portions of said contact springs. At the opposite side of the magnet base 22, springs 63 are held in a similar manner between the magnet base and a bar 16.

These springs 63 have plug-in terminals 50, as already disclosed, and at least one of said springs is connected to one end of a wire -64 of the magnet coil H, the other end of the wire being connected to another spring 63. All portions of the relay base 23 may be secured together by two spring clips 11 located in grooves extending around said base 23.

It will be seen that the magnet base 22*is provided with two positioning plug-in members 18 for use in positioning the relay for plugging the terminals 50 into a suitable socket.

As indicated in Figs: 2 and 3, said contact springs 44, 45, 46, 48 and 49 are crimped to eliminate bending from the back-stop or springstop 5] to the relay base 23, except in the uncrimped part near the base 23. Also as shown in Fig. 2, the crimping on the armature springs 44 and 48 may be extended substantially to the contacts on said springs. It should be understood that the contact springsare given a predetermined set so that when the relay is assembled the required contact pressure is automatically obtained with little or no readjustment.

It is important to have a relay with a dustproof cover and it is also important to know without removing the .cover, whether or not a relay is operated. In order to provide a dust-proof covering of the relay I5, the relay base 23 may be provided at its front and its lateral periphery with a ledge 19, leaving a reduced portion along the ledge, and a gasket of suitable material, such as rubber. The relay is provided with a cover 8| of suitable material having a hollow body of rectangular cross-section and with an open bottom which fits over the reduced portion of the base 23 and engages the gasket 80 against which it is pressed in a manner to be described hereinafter.

At the front of the cover 8|, a threaded end 82 of said central extension 30 passes through an opening in the closed end 83 thereof and said threaded end is provided with a cap nut' 84. When said cap nut is screwed down, the edges of the side walls press into said gasket 80 and produce a tight seal at that location. The same tight seal is produced between the crown nut and the closed end of the cover.

In the part of said closed end 83 over the ends of the contact springs, there is a Window 85 through which a small signal 86, which may be suitably colored, can be seen. Said signal 86 may be the offturned end of an extension of one of the armature springs 44 and is normally out of sight (Figs. 2 and 7). When said magnet is energized, the signal 86 is moved to said window 85 where it can be seen from the outside.

Across the armature end of the magnet there is a central portion 81 of said closed end 83 extending to the side of said cover and at the sides of this central portion the corresponding parts 38 of said cover are set back. With this arrangement the narrow central portion 8'! of the cover serves as a finger piece by means of which a relay may be removed from a bank of relays. It should be noted that the space between the narrow portions of the covers of two adjacent relays is twice the width of one of the parts 88. Said raised central portion 81 may be provided with a shallow recess 81a in which may be placed a label 89 showing the type of relay used.

There are many cases in which it is important to know just which relays are operated. For example, the combination of the digit storing relays in a register circuit which is energized indicates the number dialed by the subscriber. Heretofore, it has been necessary to remove covers or to use common covers of glass to get a clear view of the position of the relay springs. With the arrangement h-ereinbefore described, the colored tip of the armature spring used is normally out of sight but when the relay is energized, the colored tip or signal 86 is shifted to the window 85 where it may be seen.

As a result of the use of the window and signal with an air tight cover, the relay may be assembled in the shop, and its cover applied in an air tight manner and secured by said cap nut. This may be done before any dust gets into the relay. The relay may be tested at any time without removing the cover. If a relay becomes defective while in use, it is easy to replace the same.

Obviously the window 85 may take diiferent forms. However, as illustrated in Figs. 5 and 17 it comprises a rectangular opening through the closed end 83 of the cover 8| with a recess extending around said opening at the outer side of said closed end, and a transparent member such as a small sheet of glass fitted into said recess and secured by suitable means such as a suitable adhesive.

I It is of course very important to be able to remove and apply a plug-in relay readily. This may be done in the same general manner as in said prior application. As indicated in Fig. 2, usemay be made of a relay socket device comprising a body in the form of a plate or block 90 of insulating material having spring sockets or jacks 9! adapted to receive the plug-in terminals 58 of the relay. Projecting from the rear of said. plate 90 are terminals 92 which can readily be attached to suitable wires of the system.

A relay may be located in proper position on said plate 90 by suitable bores of a size to receive said plug-in members '18 in the magnet base 22. The block 96 may be equipped to accommodate two relays l side-by-side, as indicated. Each socket body or plate 98 may be provided with a shallow groove 93 to receive a cross member or rungfiil of a ladder-like socket plate support 95. Each socket plate 9?} is attached to the corresponding cross member 94 by suitable means such as a screw 96. As disclosed in said prior applicationDeakin No. 181, cross members 94 are integral at their ends with flat side members 97 turned on edge. In order to eliminaw rocking of a socket plate or mounting plate 90 on the corresponding cross member, each of said socket plates maybe recessed to provide shoulders 98 to rest on the edges of said members 9'! and shoulders 99 to engage the inner faces of said members 8?. i As illustrated in Fig. 10, each socket plate 98] carrying two relays i 5, is provided with an interior cut-out it!) to receive spring arms 26 with their hooked ends engaging shoulders ID! to resist withdrawal and with edge cutouts N32 to receive the other arms 26 of the socket clips with their hooked ends 28 engaging corresponding shoulders NH. Of course a socket plate designed to carry one relay would have edge cutouts only.

The armature-assembly element is made of suitable spring metal and the side portions 36 may converge somewhat when made. these arms are spread in order to insert the contact-spring olperating members 5! and 47 and will be held thereby in spread condition. As will be evident the movement of the element 35 is limited by the width of the slot 49 which receives the wide rear end of the armature-bearing plate 29. The width of said slot may be regulated by varying the, position of the bent-over flange or lip 38 at one edge of the slot 43. It may be desirable to stock a number of said elements 25 adjusted for different air gaps and to mark the different sizes. This arrangement makes it easy to meet the requirements for any required airgap.

Another advantageous feature in the convenient means for detachably securing the spring stop to the return pole piece.

The feature of eliminating bending of the contact springs in certain parts, that is making these parts rigid, renders it relatively easy to adjust the tension of the springs. The base portions of the contact springs may be adjusted in advance so that when assembled with the elements or the relay base the springs will be properly tensioned without further adjustment. The clamp.-

I-Iowever,

ing of the relay to the socket plate or mount.- ing plate serves two important purposes: (1) to prevent the relay from being shaken out of position and (2 to eliminate possible microphonic noise which might result from vibration of the relay and the contact springs.

The second form of plug-in relay (Figs. 6, 7 and 8) designated by the reference character I5b, has many parts substantially identical with parts of the first form disclosed in Figs. 1 through 5. The principal diiferences arise from the omission in the second form of many parts appearing in the first form and from corresponding reductions in size of other parts. In the following brief description of the second form, parts which are the same as parts in the first form will be designated by the same reference numerals, and. parts which, while not the same, correspond to parts of the first form will be designated by the same numerals with the subscript I) applied thereto.

In Fig. 6, the two sets of springs 48 and 49 have been omitted, spring stop 5 lb is correspondingly smaller than spring stop 5| of Fig. 2, certain bars of the base 23 have been omitted, and one dimension of the casing or cover has been substantially decreased.

Similarly bars 13 and 14 of the first form have been omitted, bar 12 has been replaced by an end bar 12b, and the modified relay base is designated by the reference character 23b.

The relay 151) can be applied to socket plates or they may be applied to correspondingly modified socket plates 90b.

Although the contact springs have been described as having bending eliminated in certain parts, these parts may be varied in position along the springs and also in length. The elimination of bending may be obtained in any suitable manner.

Although the relays disclosed are of the break before make type, the invention may also apply to relay of the make before break type.

Although the contact springs are illustrated as provided with single contacts, they may be equipped with double contacts, either fixed to said contact springs or having spring connection therewith.

The relays of the present invention may be supported vertically or horizontally. When a relay is plugged in horizontally, as is in many cases particularly desirable, it may have any side at the top but it is desirable to have the leaf springs set on edge.

It should be understood that various changes may be made and that certain features may be used without others, without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In an electromagnetic relay having contact springs, a plate-like armature extending over a pole of the electromagnet of said relay and operatively associated with said springs, said armature having as its fulcrum end two extending side lugsbent out of plane of said armature and forming a slot therebetween, a fixed member having a board portion providing fulcrums at its edge to engage said lugs and a central extension carried by said member fitted within said slot, and spring means adjustably attached to said extension and extending substantially in parallelism therewith, said spring means bearing directly against said lugs to urge said armature against said fulcrums and away from the pole of the electromagnet, whereby to impart a pre determined spring tension to said armature, independent of the tension exerted thereagainst by said contact springs.

2. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said armature further comprises a pair of parallel plate-like extensions, each extension extending from a difierent edge of said armature in a plane normal thereto, said extensions each having an inturned flange bent out of the plane thereof, said flanges adapted to abut against said member under urging by said spring means thereby providing a stop for said armature in the unoperated condition of said relay.

3. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said spring means comprises a substantially U-shaped element having one of the legs thereof in contact with said lugs and having its other leg in contact with said extension, said first named leg provided with an aperture therethrough, and an adjustable tensioning device projecting through said aperture into said extension, said device adapted to fasten said element to said extension.

GERALD DEAKIN.

Number Name Date Carliss Feb. 16, 1904 Number Number 10 Name Date North Oct. 11, 1910 Newburn July 14, 1914 Ames May 25, 1915 Webster July 4, 19'16 Carichoff Aug. 5, 1924 Beck Jan. 6, 1925 Crowe Oct. 18, 1927 I-Iartzell Aug. 13, 1929 Rose July 12, 1932 Merkel Jan. 26, 1937 Brander Apr. 13, 1937 Howe Nov. 1, 1938 Anthony Apr. 23, 1940 Lazich Apr. 30, 1940 Wallace July 23, 1940 Merkel Oct. 7, 1941 Merkel Oct. 7, 1941 Fowler May 5, 1942 Vigren et al. May 12, 1942 Marco et a1. June '15, 1943 Smith Sept. 21, 1943 Coxon Dec. 12, 1944 Bucklen, Jr. Nov. 27, 1945 McMaster et a1. Apr. 16, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain June 21, 1912 Great Britain Nov. 30, 1936 

